It’s already been more than a month since Declan Porter left our lives forever, but Revenge’s favorite lobster stealer is always in our hearts. No amount of sunshine or caviar can ever fill the hole this greasy-haired jewelry thief left, and we’re keeping all of our fingers and toes crossed that he’ll one day return in flashback form.

But when it comes to the character of Declan, actor Nick Wechsler (Jack Porter) wasn’t particularly attached. Wetpaint Entertainment caught up with the actor at the 2013 ATX Television Festival where he talked about Declan and his real-life counterpart, Connor Paolo.

“I was texting with [Connor] the other day. Yeah, I love that guy, and I would love to work with him again,” Nick said. “People are always like, ‘Declan was never really well-received.’ [Connor]’s a great actor, he can be whatever he puts his mind to. I think what people were responding to is that his character was never necessary. They’ve never given him a break, never given his character the break he needed. His storyline was always supposed to come second.”

We’ll pause to give you a moment to break down weeping.

Personally, we love Declan and didn’t want to see him die, but if that’s what it took to officially push Jack off the deep end, leading Emily Thorne to reveal her true identity to him, then we guess it was a necessary sacrifice.

Are you surprised that Nick didn’t think Declan was a necessary part of Revenge? Tell us below!